International tourism

Banca d'Italia has been conducting since 1996 a survey on international tourism primarily to collect information for compiling the 'Travel' item (which includes goods and services acquired from an economy by non-residents during visits to that economy) and the 'Passenger transport services' item in Italy's balance of payments, in line with the methodological conventions laid out in the sixth edition of the IMF's manual (BPM6). The survey is based on interviews and counts of resident and non-resident travellers at the Italian borders (road and rail crossings, international ports and airports); it is integrated with administrative data and, since end-2020, with mobile phone data, where available.

The survey also serves as a useful database for operators in the tourism sector and researchers, thanks to the wide range of analytical data provided alongside those gathered strictly for balance of payment requirements. The data are available on this website both in aggregate form and as microdata.

Monthly brief on international tourism

Last May, Italy's tourism balance of payments recorded a surplus of €2.6 billion, slightly down compared to the same month of 2024. Inbound tourism expenditure (€5.2 billion) increased marginally by 0.5 percent, while outbound tourism expenditure (€2.6 billion) rose by 10.5 percent.

In the average of the three months ending in May 2025, inbound expenditure increased by 5.4 percent compared to the same period in 2024, while outbound expenditure grew by 7.3 percent (Figure 1). Spending in Italy by travellers from non-EU countries outpaced again that of EU tourists (6.8 and 4.2 percent, respectively; Figure 2, left panel). Conversely, the increase in spending by Italians abroad was more evenly distributed between the two areas (7.5 percent in EU destinations and 7.0 percent in non-EU countries; Figure 2, right panel).

Fig. 1 - Italy's inbound and outbound tourism expenditure
(3-month moving averages; year-on-year percentage changes)

Italy's inbound and outbound tourism expenditure - Fig. 1

Fig. 2 - Italy's inbound and outbound tourism expenditure by geographical area
(3-month moving averages; year-on-year percentage changes)

Italy's inbound and outbound tourism expenditure by geographical area - Fig. 2

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